Marathon, FL - 2/25/11 (day 28)

We went to the Dolphin Research Center with Skip and Barb today. This place was amazing. It operates as a non-profit and it appears that they have a lot of collage age folks working there. They not only accept damaged dolphins and sea lions but also train them to respond to different commands.

Finally ... Ricki got a couple of pictures with them in the air!

If you remember we had a lot of dolphin splash pictures coming across the Gulf. Here's another good one.

These animals seem very smart and love to interact with people.

This was a game of "find the alligator" which was a memory game. The trainer would show the dolphin which bucket is was in then call it around the pool and see if it could find it.

While dolphins respond to hand and whistle commands, sea lions are like dogs and respond to verbal commands. Very impressive.

Remember ... birds are sacred here so they not only had chickens running around but also several peacocks were seen.

This guy liked to pose for pictures.

Think this guy had something else on his mind and was a little irritated with people bothering him with his "girl friend"

Such a handsome couple.

Barb & Skip

The entry sign.

After lunch we drove over to Sombrero Beach.

And spotted these two lovelies washing their toes.







We also stopped by the Homeland Security and Customs in Marathon to see about getting our boat decal for re-entry back into the USA after leaving the country. Don't know the function of this office but it seemed verrrry secure and after talking to a lady thru bullet proof glass found out we would have to go to either Key West or Miami to get our decals. Of course she also gave us a web site to download the form but ... good luck. Boy was it confusing so I guess I will go to Key West Monday.